In the agricultural industry, various types of conveyors or material-conveying mechanisms are used to transport grain, seed, fertilizer and other such bulk materials. Belt conveyors are typically used to convey seeds. Augers are typically used to move products like grain, oil seeds and other similar bulk materials. An auger includes a flighting, which is a rotating helical screw blade, that conveys the grain or other material. The auger may be powered by a tractor power takeoff or standalone power unit like a diesel engine. The tractor PTO is coupled by a drive shaft or driveline to the auger.
Conventionally, the function of powering the auger through the PTO of the tractor and then throttling the PTO up and down to achieve desired auger run speeds both when empty and full are performed manually by an operator situated at the power unit. This results in several entries and exits from the tractor (or trips to the power unit) during the loading or unloading of a semi-trailer or truck, which is inefficient. The more trips that an operator makes both in and out of equipment increases the likelihood of fatigue, mistakes and errors during the high activity periods of harvest and grain transport, which can give rise to operator safety issues.
In view of the foregoing, an improved material-conveying system is highly desirable in order to address the shortcomings of the prior art.